No one needs another reason to stay home and do nothing
Early in the pandemic, it was popular among progressive thinkers to claim the federal government’s $2,000-permonth Canada emergency response benefit (Cerb) should be considered the first step toward a universal basic income scheme. Giving everyone a salary whether they worked or not, would, according to proponents, eliminate poverty forever.
unfortunately, utopia does not come cheap. As such a thing would cost hundreds of billions of dollars per year — a chokingly-high figure even in these deficit-crazy times — advocates apparently lowered their sights. If a year’s income without having to work is unachievable, why not try a couple of weeks? Which brings us to the current frenzy over paid sick days.
recall that last fall, in exchange for his support for the throne speech, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh extracted a Liberal promise to give every worker 10 paid sick days. Almost as soon as it was unveiled, however, the Canada recovery Sickness benefit (Crsb), which provides sick pay of $500 a week for two weeks and has since paid out $300 million, was attacked for being overly cumbersome and too stingy.
More recently, the call for paid sick days has shifted to the provinces. Ontario, for example, has seen a tidal wave of demands over the past few months from unions, municipalities and assorted left-leaning politicians that workers should get paid for any days they are off sick. The Toronto board of Health recently demanded that employers provide five paid sick days to all employees. Ontario NDP MPP Peggy Sattler has introduced the “Stay Home If you Are Sick Act,” a private member’s bill that would require seven paid and three unpaid sick days a year. Ontario’s big city mayors have also called for an expansion of the Crsb.
even the business community has apparently fallen in line. “The last thing one of our members wants is for a sick or infected employee having to choose between following public health orders and staying home, or putting food on the table,” rocco rossi, president of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) said in an interview. The OCC even put out a statement apparently backing Sattler’s paid sick day bill.
There is obvious wisdom in ensuring sick or infected workers stay home. but workers are not the only folks inconvenienced by the pandemic. Self-employed individuals and business owners have also been deeply affected by government lockdowns and restrictions. And there’s no talk of their having to “choose between” defying public orders to put food on the table and meekly abiding by the rules. rather, rule-breakers are arrested and fined while government support programs, such as wage and rent subsides, cover only a fraction of the true losses. you would think everyone should be expected to make some sacrifices in the fight against COVID-19, employees included.
As for the business community’s apparent support for paid sick days, there are a few major caveats to note. “To be clear,” rossi stressed, “we support the notion of a temporary paid sick-day program that is paid for by government.” Given that Sattler’s bill explicitly proposes a permanent program paid for by employers, there’s a substantial gap between what the chamber claims to support and what the bill actually says. So claims the OCC has “endorsed” Sattler’s proposal aren’t exactly true.
While the business sector sows confusion about its support for a temporary, government-funded paid sickday program to weather a once-in-a-century pandemic, the political left is using the crisis to revive eternal demands for a permanent, employer-funded sick day benefit as a de facto increase in worker compensation. This is very bad news for anyone pinning their hopes on a robust post-pandemic recovery.
When doug Ford became Ontario’s premier in 2018, one of his first moves was to remove a provincial requirement for two paid leave days a year introduced by the previous Liberal government. At the time, Ford called the Liberals’ workplace reforms “an absolute job-killer.” despite all the current clamour, ample evidence suggests that’s still the best way to characterize paid sick days.
until 2012, Ontario teachers could bank their already-generous paid sickday allocation, with unused days paid out at retirement as lump-sum bonuses that could reach tens of thousands of dollars. To put a stop to this, the government implemented a “use-it-orlose-it” system. At the end of each year, any unused days were lost forever. unintended consequences ensued.
by 2017, the Ontario Auditor-general’s Office reported sick day claims by teachers had risen nearly 30 per cent. Some school boards saw their compensation costs rise more than $3 million a month as they scrambled to hire substitutes to cover the classes of absentee teachers. Faced with the possible loss of their sick days, teachers had developed a sudden urge to stay home more often. And it’s not just unionized teachers who take advantage of the rules. According to international research by university of Toronto economist Morley Gunderson, “employees increasingly regard (sick days) as a ‘right’ rather than a privilege.”
Workers inevitably take as many paid sick days as they’re given. And this means any permanent, employer-provided benefit will raise payroll costs and lower productivity — hardly the recipe for a quick and vigorous recovery. The last thing Canadians need is another reason to stay home and do nothing.